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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24956806">Fate's Design</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostWriter030791/pseuds/GhostWriter030791'>GhostWriter030791</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:48:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,536</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24956806</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostWriter030791/pseuds/GhostWriter030791</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>At the dawn of the universe, there was nothing. Then boom. The big bang sent six elemental crystals hurtling across the virgin universe. These infinity stones each control an essential aspect of existence: space, reality, power, soul, mind, and time. The titan Thanos sought to bring balance to the universe by using these elemental crystals to remove half of all life in the universe. In his arrogance, he created the very imbalance he feared. </p><p>Unknown to Thanos, the infinity stones have a will of their own, and even as Thanos destroyed the delicate balance of the universe the stones began the process of repairing the damage done. It would take a long time to correct the chaos, but balance would be returned to the universe. </p><p>After all, the infinity stones were not mere trinkets to be toyed with by mortals and utilized against their collective will. They were the building blocks of existence, and as such did not answer to the laws and will of mortals, no matter their race. </p><p>The imbalance created by the mad titan would be corrected; after all, fate’s design cannot be changed by a mere snap of the fingers. </p><p>At least, not without fate’s consent.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Fate's Design</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Tags will be added as I update. As of right now,  updates are planned for Sunday.<br/>Thank you in advance and happy reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>At the dawn of the universe, there was nothing. Then boom. The big bang sent six elemental crystals hurtling across the virgin universe. These infinity stones each control an essential aspect of existence: space, reality, power, soul, mind, and time. The titan Thanos sought to bring balance to the universe by using these elemental crystals to remove half of all life in the universe. In his arrogance, he created the very imbalance he feared. </p><p>Unknown to Thanos, the infinity stones have a will of their own, and even as Thanos destroyed the delicate balance of the universe the stones began the process of repairing the damage done. It would take a long time to correct the chaos, but balance would be returned to the universe. </p><p>After all, the infinity stones were not mere trinkets to be toyed with by mortals and utilized against their collective will. They were the building blocks of existence, and as such did not answer to the laws and will of mortals, no matter their race. </p><p>The imbalance created by the mad titan would be corrected; after all, fate’s design cannot be changed by a mere snap of the fingers. </p><p>At least, not without fate’s consent. </p><p>*~*~*</p><p>The first thing his brain registered was the searing agony. His nerves felt like they were on fire; he thought he screamed but there wasn’t any noise. When he did manage to crack his eyes open he expected to see flames eating at his exposed flesh. He writhed in agony and cried out again, but if he made a sound there didn’t appear to be anyone around to hear him. </p><p>The vast, pure white emptiness surrounding him made him clench his eyes shut again and he grit his teeth as another wave of agony ripped through his body. He gasped, taking in deep breaths that seemed to sear his lungs and he forced his eyes back open. </p><p>Forcing his head to the side, he looked down at the hand on his right side. His eyes widened in panic and terror as he saw only the stump of his right wrist. Slowly, painfully, the fingers he knew should be there began rebuilding, slowly forming into fingers from nothing. He was being rebuilt, atom by atom, and it <i>hurt<i>.</i></i></p>
<p>
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</p><p>Darkness consumed him as he screamed again. </p><p>The next time he woke rain was falling gently on his exposed skin. The ground was hard and rough under fingers that weakly scrabbled at the ground, but the rain was soothing the memory of the flames and agony from before.<br/>

</p>
<p>He forced his eyes open again, expecting to see the white light of nothingness from before. Instead, dark clouds on a dark night covered the sky, stars peeking out here and there from between them. He opened his mouth slightly and rain fell into his mouth, making him realize just how thirsty he was.  </p><p>He pushed himself up to a sitting position, wincing slightly as dirt and gravel from the cement he was lying on imbedded themselves into the back of his exposed thighs. It was then he noticed he was naked, and he pulled his knees up so he could wrap his arms around himself protectively. </p><p>His surroundings began to register to his frazzled and frayed mind as he sat on the cold ground trying to get his muscles to stop shaking and work properly. Tall buildings surrounded him, many of them with warm, friendly lights coming from the windows and he briefly hoped no one would look down and see him. Cars drove slowly down the road in the distance, headlights reflecting off the water on the street. He seemed to be in some sort of alleyway between two separate apartment buildings; if he strained, he could hear and smell the signs of life all around him. Even in the dark he recognized where he was, even as his mind immediately began cataloging the changes. </p><p>The dumpster he used hide his clothes behind when he changed into his suit after school was now blue instead of green, and even from where he sat on the cold ground he could see the bodega where he used to get sandwiches had changed to a Latin American restaurant. </p><p>Still, he was home, and it released some of the tension in his shoulders he hadn’t quite registered until then.</p><p>Peter Parker, because he knew who he was now, pushed himself to his feet and turned towards the dumpster, thinking perhaps there were some clothes or coverings he could use until he found May or could get in contact with Mr. Stark. He groaned as he stood on wobbly feet and tried to convince his muscles to hold strong. He was about as steady as a newborn giraffe; he felt like he had missed something important—like he had been asleep for a long time. </p><p>Footsteps behind him made him whirl, almost losing his balance in the process. Clinging to the dumpster and trying to cover himself at the same time, Peter saw an elderly man standing in the gloom, holding a bundle under one arm and a gentle smile on his face. He seemed kind, with white hair and sunglasses, even in the dark, and he held out the bundle to Peter. </p><p>“You’ll be needing this,” he said. He reminded Peter of a kindly grandfather, wearing khakis and a sweater over a white collared shirt. Peter hesitated for a moment before carefully taking the bundle from him to find loose sweatpants, a pair of tennis shoes, and a loose t-shirt. Peter gratefully began pulling on the clothing, minimal as it was. </p><p>“Thank you,” he croaked, voice sounding like broken glass, as if he hadn’t spoken to anyone in a while. He tried not to think too hard about what that meant. </p><p>The man nodded. “You’ll need to take it easy to start, but I suspect you will recover quickly.”</p><p>Peter tugged the sweatpants over his hips and looked at the man curiously. “Who are you?”</p><p>The man just smiled. “A friend.”</p><p>Peter pulled the t-shirt on. “We’ve met before?”</p><p>The man’s smile widened. “We have, although you wouldn’t remember.”</p><p>Peter straightened up, tugging on the shoes, legs still weak but getting stronger. “Why not?”</p><p>Instead of answering the man just tilted his head at Peter. “Things have changed, Peter. You’ve been gone for far longer than you realize.”</p><p>Images began flashing before his eyes: Titan, fighting Thanos, Tony’s wide, frightened eyes as pain unlike anything Peter had felt before ripped though his body, tearing him away from everything and everyone he’d ever cared about.</p><p>The man nodded in compassionate understanding at Peter’s expression. “Yes. You remember now.”</p><p>“We lost,” Peter whispered, turning back to the man. “Oh God, we lost.”</p><p>The man nodded and took a step towards him. “Events came to pass that were not meant to, and those that were meant to did not happen as they should. Thanos thought he was bringing balance to the universe; in his arrogance he did not realize how his actions would throw an already fragile universe into chaos.”</p><p>Peter glanced up to see the man much closer than he realized. His nerves were still on edge, and the fact that the man had managed to get so close to made him realize just how out of sorts he still was. Kind blue eyes stared at him for a long moment, and Peter fought the urge to start rambling incoherently.</p><p>After a long moment the man nodded and then took a step back, turned and began walking down the alleyway. Peter blinked at him. </p><p>“Hey!” the man turned back. “That’s it?”</p><p>The man turned and smiled again, an amused smile that said just how little he thought Peter knew. “Thanos brought chaos to this universe. I trust you and Stark will find a way to re-balance the scales.”</p><p>A car honked loudly behind Peter and he jumped, turning to look behind him. When he turned back to the alleyway, the man was gone, as if he’d never been there to begin with. </p><p>Frowning in confusion Peter turned back to the mouth of the alley and hobbled his way to the street. Taking a minute to get his bearings he looked towards the end of the street in the way that would take him to May. Even without the man telling him, he knew he had been gone for a long time and wasn’t sure immediately going to May was the right answer. </p><p>Peter turned to his left and located the massive tower that stood at the center of town. It was several blocks away, and the skyline looked different than he remembered. Still, the letters <i>SI<i> shone brightly in the evening gloom and just looking at it made something in Peter that had been coiled tightly in the center of his chest unravel slightly.</i></i></p>
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</p><p>Decision made, Peter began hobbling towards the bright lights of Stark Tower, hoping Tony had managed to survive and would be there. </p><p>After all, the man had mentioned Stark, so Tony must have survived the titan’s attack. If he survived, he would have a plan.</p><p>Peter just had to make his way back to Tony and everything would be all right.</p>
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